Chesney's concert comes on the heels of his appearance at the Academy of Country Music awards show Sunday, where the singer took home his fourth consecutive entertainer of the year award.

That's no surprise for a guy that, for the past several years, routinely has sold out Van Andel Arena and repeated it across the country, also selling out football stadiums.

Chesney is a seasoned pro who knows his audience well and, in the years he has appeared at Van Andel Arena, has continued to make his show bigger and better.

In terms of production, the Pirates & Poets show is a dazzling array of video screens, the most impressive being a large curved screen that served as a backdrop. For sound, Chesney has made his already muscular instrumental backing punchier, by enlarging his talented and versatile band to 11 members, which included a stellar four-piece horn section.

Emerging from below the center of his stage, Chesney hit the ground running, launching his band into "Live Those Songs Again" and not letting up, soaking up the adoration and deafening roar of the crowd as he launched into "Summertime," "Beer in Mexico" and the college party anthem "Keg in the Closet."

Having just celebrated his 24th career Top Ten hit, Chesney has a lot of crowd-pleasing songs to choose from, and he delivered one right after another, including "Young," "Big Star" and a high-octane cover of Dwight Yoakam's "Wild Ride."

In the past, Chesney's shows here have included special guest appearances, and this year was no exception as Detroit hip-hop and rock artist Uncle Kracker and Jennifer Nettles, lead singer for country duo Sugarland, joined Chesney for his calypso-flavored hit "When the Sun Goes Down."

LeAnn Rimes delivered a solid opening act.

Clowning around onstage with Uncle Kracker and Nettles, Chesney clearly was enjoying himself, and he and Uncle Kracker delighted the crowd by peforming a rockin' version of Kid Rock's "Cowboy" and a cover of David Allan Coe's honky tonk standard "You Never Even Call Me By My Name."

But Chesney wasn't done there, as he brought Nettles back for the first of his two-song encore, inviting her to help him sing his early hit "Anything But Mine."

In spite of a rough sound mix, the golden-throated LeAnn Rimes delivered an excellent set, highlighted by hits from her latest CD "Family," including the swampy title track, the pop rocker "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine" and her sassy opening song "Nothin' Better to Do."

West Michigan act the Frankie Ballard Band got its "15 minutes of fame" with a short but extremely sweet opening set. The Kalamazoo-based trio recently won Kenny Chesney's "The Next Big Star" contest, which allowed them to open the show. A video of their set Wednesday night will be used to judge them against other unsigned acts chosen at Chesney's other tour stops across the country. The grand prize winner will have the opportunity to open the final three shows of the Pirates & Poets Tour and an audition with Sony BMG Records.